Protecting Toph
by FaithInHim4ever
Summary: When Toph is in danger of being taken away, Katara does whatever she can to protect her. But is it enough? Takes place after Fury of Aang. RR please!


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters from Avatar. They belong to Nickelodeon. Anyone else that you don't recognize, belong to me. I also own Katara's nickname as well as the other nicknames in this story. If anyone wants to use them, please ask me first.

May the light of God shine upon everyone and keep them safe as well as the power of water be with everyone always.

Lauren

A/N: I know that Chin Fu was the one who went with Master Yu to find Toph, courtesy of my awesome sis telling me, but I wanted to do this story a different way. I hope everyone likes it.

"Protecting Toph"

Toph stood there, watching the events unfold as though she was watching a film play in her mind. She had been here before and things had worked out, so why were her nightmares taking her back to this very place in time?

Toph found that when she slept, she had all five senses when she dreamt. She could see like Katara and Aang. And even though it was only for a little bit, it was something. But sometimes, like now, Toph wished she was sightless in dreams as well.

"Toph, there are too many of them! We need an earthbender. We need you." Katara stood there, hoping Toph would consent to help them. They needed to get Aang back and they couldn't do that without her help.

"My daughter is blind. She is blind and helpless and tiny and fragile. She cannot help you." Toph's father told Katara, frowning at her before turning away.

Toph shook her head and turned to her father, a determined look on her face.

"Yes I can."

Toph watched herself fight the earthbenders to get Aang back. She then watched as she flew away on Appa with her new friends-her new family, leaving her old life behind for good.

As Toph watched this last scene play out, she saw another one that was new to her. Her father was standing in the study, talking to two people Toph recognized. One was her old earthbending teacher, Master Yu. As for the other one, it was someone Toph had fought many times before and had beaten each time.

Toph stood there, not being able to move. She was rooted to the spot as she listened to the conversation at hand.

"I know you two are very different, but I believe you have a common interest." He held up a picture of Aang and Toph gasped. She was glad her father couldn't hear her. The next words her father spoke, made Toph let out a breath she had been holding for the past few minutes. "The Avatar has kidnapped my daughter. I want you to do WHATEVER it takes to bring her home."

Toph woke up in a sweat and in tears. She had just had a nightmare, but she knew it was something more. The dream was trying to warn her about something.

"Toph?" Katara asked, waking up at the sound of Toph's breathing. "Toph, are you okay?"

Katara was at her sister's side in minutes. She put a hand on Toph's shoulder and was surprised when Toph collapsed in her arms, shaking and crying. It wasn't that Toph had sought comfort from her that made Katara confused. Toph often sought comfort from the waterbending master if something was bothering her, but it was the way Toph was shaking that got Katara worried.

"Toph? Toph, it's okay. I'm right here. Katara's here. I have you. You're safe. What happened, sweetie? Did you have a nightmare?"

Toph merely nodded as another sob escaped her lips.

Just then, a twig snapped, making Toph jump and cling to Katara even more tightly, if that was possible.

"Toph, it's okay. It's all right. It's just Sokka." Katara then glared at her brother as he came into camp. He had just gone for a bathroom break and a food run.

"What's with her?" Sokka asked, climbing into his sleeping bag and getting comfortable.

"I don't' know," Katara said, truthfully. "She's pretty shaken up. I think she had a nightmare, but she wont' tell me what it was about. I'm going to try and get her calm down. Just go back to sleep."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Sokka said, turning over and trying to block his sister's voice out of his mind.

"Toph, honey, what happened? Come on, talk to me. I want to help, but I can't unless you tell me what's wrong. I want to help you."

Toph nodded and pushed herself further into Katara's protective hold.

"It's okay. I have you. You're safe." Katara assured her, starting to stroke Toph's hair. "Come on, I think I know what you need." With that, Katara picked Toph up and carried her over to Appa. It was almost time to get up and Appa was awake. He always slept on and off and would wake up to watch over the kids. He especially was protective over Katara and Aang. He was also very protective of Toph and since they had gotten him back nearly a month earlier, he and the blind bandit had become closer. Not as close as he and Katara, but their relationship was better.

Katara set Toph on Appa and climbed on herself. She gave Appa the command and shook the reins gently.

"Come on, sweetheart, it's okay. You're such a sweet boy." Katara said, petting Appa's left shoulder blade. She loved giving Appa attention and praising him whenever he did a good job. She knew he liked getting attention from her and he liked every minute of her petting him. And Katara enjoyed spending time with Appa as well.

After Appa was flying at a safe height and speed, Katara turned her attention to Toph, who was sitting quietly in the saddle. She hadn't spoken a word since they had taken off and Katara was determined to get her little sister to open up.

"Toph?" katara asked, her voice gentle and full of genuine concern. "Toph, do you want to talk about it? I promise I'll listen and I'll try and help you. But I can't help you if you wont talk."

"You can't help," Toph said, her voice barely audible, but Katara heard it all the same.

"Why?" Katara asked, hoping she would get somewhere. "Why can't I help you?"

"Because you can't!" Toph shouted, her temper coming out full and strong. She was frustrated and scared and Katara wanted more than anything to take that pain away for her. She hated seeing Toph like this and she wanted to make it better, but she couldn't if Toph wouldn't talk to her.

"Toph, please," Katara said, trying to keep her patience with the blind bandit. "Please, just talk to me. I want to understand. I love you. We're family. I want to help you. I want to protect you. But I need to know what's going on."

At the sound of the word "protect," Toph couldn't fight back tears any longer. She burst into tears and Katara was at her side in a flash.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Toph. It's all right. It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay. Katara's right here. I have you. You're safe. You're okay. It's all right. Thatta girl. Thatta girl…" Katara started to rub Toph's back and stroke her hair, hoping that would help her feel better.

It did the trick and in matter of minutes, Toph was calm again. She was still crying and she refused to leave Katara's lap, but she was visibly calmer than before.

"Good girl, that's a girl. Just take a deep breath. I'm right here." Katara assured her, hoping that her words were registering in Toph's brain.

"Don't let them take me!" Toph whimpered suddenly, catching Katara off guard.

"Don't let who get you?" Katara asked, hugging Toph closer and planting a kiss on her head.

"They're looking for me! I saw it in my dream! My father sent someone to find me! I don't want to go! Please, don't let them take me away! Katara, please! I can't go back there! I can't! Please!"

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Toph. It's all right. It was just a dream, honey. A bad dream. It's okay. That's all it was."

"No it wasn't!" Toph insisted, her fingernails digging into Katara's tan skin. "It was more than that! I Know it. They're gonna find me!"

"Okay, all right. It's okay. It's going to be okay. Let's say just for the sake of argument that your dream was trying to warn you about something. If they find you, they won't take you. I wont' let them."

Toph breathed a sigh of relief as she snuggled into Katara for a cuddle. She felt a lot better, but she was still scared. She had never been scared of anything in her whole life, but this time, she was truly afraid.

"You promise?" Toph asked, laying her head against Katara's shoulder.

"Yes. I promise you. I won't let them touch you."

"Thanks, Tara."

Katara shook her head and smiled down at her little sister.

"No thanks needed, kiddo. You're a member of this family and I love you. You're my little sister and I would do anything for you."

"But we're not related," Toph said, feeling a little insecure.

"It doesn't matter," Katara assured her. "We're a family. We're all each other has. You, Aang, Sokka and I, we're a family."

"Momo and Appa too?" Toph asked, a small smile spreading across her face.

Katara nodded as she patted Appa's head, making him groan in contentment.

"Yup. Appa and Momo too."

When the kids got back to camp, Katara got breakfast started and the four kids ate and talked a little bit. Toph was feeling better since she and Katara had talked and had some cuddle time, but she was still really scared.

Once breakfast was over, they cleaned up and left the area. They were headed to another part of the earth kingdom before taking off for the fire nation.

After Appa had ascended into the sky, Katara gazed over at Toph. The blind bandit hadn't spoken since they had returned and it was worrying her. She knew Toph was feeling better, but she still had a funny feeling that something was still wrong.

Just then, Toph came over and without warning, rested her head in Katara's lap.

"Hey," Katara said, starting to stroke Toph's hair. "What's this all about?"

"I just wanted to spend some time with you," Toph said, getting comfortable.

Katara nodded and welcomed her sister's closeness. It wasn't all the time that Toph just wanted to cuddle out of nowhere, so Katara was going to take advantage of her sister's desire to be close to her, not knowing when it would happen again.

The group landed some time later and Toph had fallen asleep in Katara's lap.

"Are you going to wake her up?" Aang asked, getting down off Appa and starting to unload the supplies.

Katara nodded.

"Yup. But not just yet."

Aang nodded and threw down a sleeping bag to Sokka, who was helping for once without complaint.

Katara got down and placed Toph down on her sleeping bag. She covered the young girl with a blanket before going about the task of setting everything up.

After Katara had helped get food for dinner and make a tent for the four of them, she realized she needed more water.

Picking up her water canteen and left to do her task. As she passed Toph's sleeping bag, she stopped and decided to check on her.

As Katara bent down to give Toph's shoulder a pat, Toph's eyes started to flutter open.

"Katara?" Toph asked her voice full of sleep.

"Shh, it's okay, Toph. It's me. I was just checking on you. We've stopped for the night. Everything's set up. I'm going to get some water."

Toph sat up straight at this news and grabbed onto Katara's wrist.

"No! You can't!"

Katara was taken aback by Toph's sudden clinginess.

"Toph, I'll be back. I promise. I'm just going down to the river."

Toph didn't relinquish her hold and Katara figured the only way to put the blind bandit at ease was allowing her to come along.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Toph nodded and let go of Katara's arm. She stood up and grabbed onto Katara's elbow.

Katara thought this was strange, considering they were around plenty of earth and Toph could find her way on her own. But Katara decided not to question it. If Toph felt safer holding onto Katara, who was Katara to stop her?

Toph waited for Katara to protest, but when her sister said nothing, she relaxed her grip, but made no moves to let go.

"Come on. The faster we get back, the faster we can chow down on Gran Gran's famous stew. She taught me how to make it and it's delicious!"

Toph smiled.

"It smells good," she said, referring to the pot boiling on the fire.

When they arrived at the river, Katara tried to get the water one handed, but it was hard.

"Toph, sweetie, you're going to have to let go of me for a second." Katara told her, gently. "I need to get the water and I can't bend it if you're holding onto my hand. I promise, I'm right here and I wont' let anything happen to you, but I need both hands to work with."

Toph didn't let go at first, but then resigned to putting her hand on Katara's shoulder.

Katara didn't say anything and allowed Toph to keep her hand there.

As Katara got the water, Toph stayed silent. She was alert for any sound and every sound she heard, caused her to jump. She wasn't like this all the time, but knowing that people were looking for her, made her more than a little on edge.

Katara sensed Toph's fear and tried to do her task quickly. She didn't' want her little sister to feel unsafe and she knew standing here in the open was making Toph feel just that.

"All right, there we go." Katara said, corking the top on her water skin. "All done. We can get going now. Let's get back before Sokka eats all the stew."

Toph giggled at this. She knew Sokka would do that and if he did, Katara would give him a talking to followed by an involuntary waterbending lesson.

Katara smiled. She was glad that Toph was feeling good enough to giggle. And it made Katara feel even better that she was the one who could make her little sister happy.

When they arrived back at camp, Katara served the group dinner and they talked amongst themselves. They shared stories with Toph about their previous adventures and Sokka complained about how Katara hadn't healed him when he had gotten hurt over the last few years.

When dinner was over, the group cleaned up and hung out for awhile before going to bed.

Katara and Aang practiced waterbending while Toph set her own tent up via earthbending and amused herself by torturing Sokka.

After an hour of practicing, Katara declared that it was time for bed for all of them.

"Tara?" Toph asked as she gathered her sleeping bag up from the floor and put it in her tent.

"Yeah?" Katara asked, patting Toph's shoulder.

"Can I sleep with you tonight, please?"

"Toph, you have your own tent," Katara said, knowing she had to be delicate in the way she said no. She knew Toph was going through a hard time and it seemed like Toph thought she was safer with Katara. Toph viewed Katara as her protector and Katara was determined to live up to that role, no matter what it took.

Toph nodded.

"I know, but that dream really scared me and I…" Her voice trailed off as Katara gave her a hug.

"I know it did, kiddo, I know. You're going to be okay. We're all here. Tell you what, why don't I sleep next to your tent. That way, you still have me near you, but you're not cramped. Does that sound good?"

Toph thought about this for a minute before nodding her head.

"That's cool," Toph said, giving Katara a hug before letting her sister tuck her in.

"I'm glad we agree," Katara said, giving Toph a kiss on her cheek and ruffling her hair. "Sweet dreams, kiddo. I love you."

"I love you too, Tara. Sweet dreams." With that, Toph closed her eyes and was in dreamland within ten minutes.

Katara sighed as she set up her sleeping bag next to Toph's tent. She didn't' mind doing it and she would protect Toph any way she could. She just hoped that nothing came of Toph's nightmare. Katara didn't know what she would do if she lost another member of her family.

"Hey Tara," Sokka said, sitting up in his sleeping bag. "What was that all about? Toph's never acted like that around you before. I mean I know you guys are closer now, but she's never that clingy with you."

Katara sighed. She sat up on her elbows and told Sokka the entire story.

By the time Katara was done, Sokka's jaw was on the ground. But not because Toph might be taken away from them, but for an entirely different reason.

Katara gave her brother a strange look.

"Sokka? Hello, earth to Sokka. Are you okay?"

"The…the…the Bolder is coming here! The bolder is actually coming here!" A look of absolute extecy was on Sokka's face, making Katara glare at him.

"Hopefully not," Katara said, getting comfortable once again. "We need to do whatever it takes to protect Toph."

Sokka nodded as he closed his mouth hand wiped the drool from his face. He was too busy thinking of what he was going to say to the bolder if the earthbending fighter did show up. The Bolder was Sokka's idol.

Katara rolled er eyes and growled in frustration.

"I'm going to bed," she said, laying down and turning over to face the other side of camp. "Good night, Sokka. Sweet dreams. I love you."

"I love you too, Tara." Sokka said, laying down for bed himself. Then under his breath he added, "The Bolder, here!" With that, Sokka fell asleep with the ransom note from the Bolder and Chin Fu clutched in his hands.

Katara shook her head as she glanced over at her brother. She couldn't understand Sokka sometimes, but then again, there were a lot of things about her brother that puzzled the young waterbending master, so it was nothing new.

It wasn't until a few hours later, that disaster struck, concerning Toph.

Katara had been asleep when she heard a sound like rustling branches. It sounded like someone was heading for their camp site.

Katara sat up in bed and looked around. She checked on Sokka and Aang, both of whom were sleeping soundly. That meant that whoever was coming to call was a stranger and Katara had to be on her guard.

Katara sprang to her feet and grabbed her water cantin. She readied a water whip and threw it, satisfied when she heard it hit its target.

"Ow!" A man's voice cried out. "Maybe we should just forget about the girl and go back home. For all we know, she's safe and perfectly happy with her new friends. Besides, something tells me we're not welcome here."

Katara held her breath, waiting for whomever was with this man to speak. It seemed like the first one was reasonable enough and maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

"No way!" The other man, who sounded oddly familiar to Katara, replied. "We're getting the girl! I want my money!"

"All right. But watch out. It seems like someone has discovered our arrival."

"Don't' worry. The Bolder isn't scared of a little waterbender."

"Oh we'll see about that," Katara said, making sure to keep her voice low, so that she wouldn't wake her family just yet. With that, Katara launched a spiral of water, hitting both men as they stumbled out of the bushes.

The Bolder stumbled backwards and glared at Katara.

"The Bolder will make sure you pay for that!" The Bolder said, advancing towards Katara. What he didn't' see was Appa and the look the bison was giving him wasn't one of welcome.

Appa roared in warning and managed to wake everyone up, including Toph.

"What's going on?" Aang asked, sitting up and taking in the situation. "What in the whole North Pole…?" He then got his Barings and gave the men a glare. "You! Where did you come from? How did you find us? What do you want!" Instantly, Aang was awake and at Katara's side. He didn't want her getting hurt and he also wanted to protect Toph.

"Aang, calm down," Katara advised, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We can't afford for you to go into the Avatar state right now. We need to focus on protecting Toph."

Aang nodded and tried to keep his temper at bay.

Katara then turned her attention to Toph, who had poked her head out of her tent to see what was going on.

"Toph, get back into your tent and stay there." Katara ordered. "It's going to be okay. I promise." At this, her voice softened and she gave her sister a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

Toph nodded and did as she was told. Normally, she would have refused and joined the fight, but Katara sounded serious and Toph didn't dare mess with that tone in her voice.

"Leave, now!" Aang shouted, taking on an authoritative tone with the two strangers.

"We can't do that until we get the girl," the Bolder told him, glaring at the Avatar.

"Well, I guess you're going home empty handed." Aang said, giving him a small smile. "Thanks for stopping by, but I'm afraid you came all this way for nothing."

The Bolder shook his head and advanced towards Aang.

"Aang, look out!" Katara shouted, flinging a water whip at the Bolder. He stumbled back, but righted himself and continued his attack on Aang.

From his sleeping bag, Sokka jumped to his feet. He stood there with a goofy grin on his face.

"Whooo hooo! Go Bolder! Put the hurt in the dirt!"

Katara gave Sokka a glare before whacking him with her water canteen.

"What!" Sokka asked, trying to sound innocent.

Katara rolled her eyes and turned back to see if Aang was okay.

Aang jumped out of the way easily and tried to defend himself with airbending. He then got an idea. He smiled at Katara and winked, letting her know he could handle it.

"Go take care of Toph," Aang said, giving Katara a small smile. "I got this."

"Are you sure?" Katara asked, a worried look on her face. "I don't want you getting hurt either. I love you just as much as I love Toph."

Aang nodded.

"I know. I'll be fine. Trust me. Go be with Toph. She needs her big sister right now." He winked and Katara got the message.

Katara entered Toph's tent to found her little sister huddled against the corner on the far left. She had her hands wrapped around her knees and Katara could tell she was shaking.

"Toph? Toph, it's okay. I'm here. We're not going to let them take you away. Aang's taking care of our guests right now." She winked and gave Toph's shoulder a pat. "Come here."

Toph obliged and buried herself into Katara's lap, crying and shaking. She just kept begging Katara through her tears to not let them take her away. All Katara could do was hush Toph and promise her that she would do her best to keep her safe and protect her. Katara prayed that Aang knew what he was doing and that his plan would work. Little did Katara know just how well it would work out.

"You want to what!" The Bolder said, giving Aang an incredulous look. "You want to challenge the Bolder in exchange for the girl?"

Aang nodded.

"That's right. And if I win, you get money, but you have to leave Toph alone and not tell her father that you saw us."

"And if I win…?" The Bolder inquired, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"You can take all of us back as prisoners." Aang said, knowing the Bolder wouldn't go for that plan entirely. "And you still get paid."

"The Bolder likes the sound of that. Let's get this over with, airbender."

Aang nodded and smirked. He then thought to himself, 'I hope I make you proud, Sifu Toph." With that, they started their battle, Master Yu looking on in amazement. The Avatar was rather good and it looked like Toph had trained him well.

Aang was pulling out all the stops and using every earthbending trick that Toph had taught him. He wanted to

beat the Bolder and save Toph's freedom.

Just as Aang thought he couldn't fight any longer, the Bolder went down.

Sokka groaned and gave Aang a glare.

"You beat the Bolder!" He shouted, faining shock. "You beat the Bolder! That isn't possible! No!"

Katara came out just then. He gave Sokka a look.

"Get over it, Sokka," she said, putting a hand on Aang's shoulder. "You did a great job!"

Aang smiled from ear to ear.

"Thanks."

Katara nodded. She then got out a pouch of money and handed it to the Bolder.

"There, you have your money, so you can leave now." She said, giving the Bolder a glare.

The Bolder shook his head.

"Do you think we would leave that easily."

Master Yu gave the Bolder a look.

"Maybe we should leave. I mean, Toph seems to be safe and well cared for and we do have our money."

The Bolder thought about this for two short minutes before shaking his head and going towards Toph's tent.

"No!" Katara shouted, standing in front of her sister's shelter and launching a water whip at the Bolder.

The Bolder went to step back, but the whip hit him full force.

Just as Katara was about to launch another one, a jet of earth spiraled out of the ground and sent him flying.

Katara spun around to see Toph standing there. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"My sister asked you to leave. And now you're finding out what happens when you don't listen to her." She giggled as she bent another slab of earth, sending the Bolder hurdling through the air.

"Go Toph!" Sokka shouted, surprising everyone.

Toph nodded and bent a few more slabs of earth before she was satisfied that he Bolder had had enough.

"Now, leave!" Toph ordered. "I'm happy here and I'm finally a part of a family who doesn't think I'm helpless. They love me for who I am and they let me do things for myself. Tell my parents I love them, but I've found my place. And that's with Aang and my other friends."

Master Yu stepped forward and gave Toph a smile.

"I tried to tell this oaf that, but he didn't seem to want to listen. I'm sorry we scared you. I'll tell your father you're safe and sound." He then turned to the group at large. "Good evening, Avatar Aang, Katara and Sokka. I'm sorry we intruded on your sleep." With that, he left, taking the Bolder with him.

Toph smiled triumphantly and fell upon her element, content as ever.

Katara sat next to Toph and patted her shoulder before embracing her.

"See? I told you everything would work out."

Toph nodded.

"Yup. You were right."

Katara giggled as she bent down and started tickling Toph's stomach, making her giggle.

After the giggles had stopped, Katara declared that they all needed some more rest.

"Aw, Tara, do we have to?" Toph asked, giving her older sister's puppy dog eyes.

"Yes," Katara said, but she was smiling. She then patted her lap. "Come here, kiddo."

Toph nodded and did so. She rested her head in Katara's lap and ended up falling asleep in her protector's arms. She loved Katara so much and she was a great big sister, even though she and Katara weren't related. It didn't matter. They still loved each other and Toph was happy to be a part of a family that loved her and was willing to do anything to protect her.

As Katara glanced down at Toph, she found her little sister had fallen asleep. She gave Toph a kiss before tucking her in. But as Katara went to move her, she thought better of it and left Toph where she was. It was only for one night and Katara could be uncomfortable for one night. If it meant that Toph was safe and sound with them, then it was worth it.

THE END


End file.
